Thered be more demand than you think Mike. The time i spend fixing the old ones could be better spent building new ones.
Put it this way... i have BALLY games that are missing displays.. i took ALL perfect displays out of my Star Trek so i could sell a SPECTRUM. ST is a keeper and so i try and find old displays that i can fix up to put in there. Only way i have of really doing this is to buy bulk lots off Ebay... chuck out those with burnt anodes etc and repair the rest... its a hit and miss method.
Unfortunately, the old displays cannot be repaired, i have the equipment to regas these but the way they are manufactured means that this cannot be done.
The HV section on a pinball doesnt bother me at all.. it gets a bad rap, but it is only 180v.. hardly high voltage and its current is minimal... im guessing 20mA maximum if that.
Im not adverse to replacing displays with LED type.. i dont actually mind the look of these and after all, when these games were being made LED watches were hot and new on the market... remember the "Black Watch"?... my uncle had one... WOW!!! Had time and at the press of an obscure button told you the date!
Theres nothing new about having LED number displays... it was cutting edge in late 70's.. in all honesty, the pinball manufacturers really should have embraced them then.... look at my RALLY game that you saw.. cutting edge Nixie displays in the late 60's.... really advanced stuff for its time.
Personally, id be making these LED displays to replace my old ones as they died.. and die they will.
Another smaller market for you would be for Zaccaria games.. ( here we go again!) but these displays are nigh on impossible to replace... try sourcing some 7 digit!
